


Protégé

by Anonim



Series: Sins of the Father [2]
Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: Character Study, Gen, Sociopathy, Solitary Confinement
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-14
Updated: 2019-11-14
Packaged: 2021-02-01 07:20:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21435193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anonim/pseuds/Anonim
Summary: Martin ponders the state his son is in.
Series: Sins of the Father [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1536439
Comments: 4
Kudos: 51





	Protégé

It’s perhaps because of the fact that he hadn’t seen him in the flesh in ten years that Malcolm’s appearance surprises him. He’s thin, perhaps too thin, he’s exhausted, his hand still trembles and with each visit he only looks worse.

Of course, the idea that Malcolm’s degrading health might have something to do with Martin’s own reappearance in his life doesn’t escape him, or that his mental state was fragile to begin with due to... _mistakes_ he’d made while trying to initiate him into what he sometimes thought of as the family trade. The one that started with him.

But Martin doesn’t feel _guilt_ over this. One day, Malcolm would see things the way he did, and when that happens, he’ll be better. He’ll be mended, and this regrettable state he’s in right now will only have made him stronger.

Yes, that’s exactly it, he thinks. Malcolm might be suffering today, might have suffered for the past twenty years, but it wouldn’t be all for nothing. He’s still Martin’s protégé.

It just... it _annoys _him so much that he lost these twenty or so years with him. He’d wanted him to become a surgeon like him, because it’s his acute understanding of the human body that allows him to elevate his kills to an artform, but as it stands right now, he lacks the skills and knowledge that Martin has.

He’d thought about all of this many times over the years, and concluded that Malcolm doesn’t necessarily have to kill the exact same way Martin did in order to reach brilliance like him. Maybe Malcolm’s art will be in the nature of the crime itself. Perhaps his profound knowledge of the mind of serial killers and his insight into how law enforcement handles them will be what will allow him to commit the perfect murders.

The thought excites Martin. Oh, together they’d be unstoppable.

He smiles to himself in the small, barren cell of solitary.

_That will be the day._


End file.
